The death of a TV character, as in life, can be an
anticipated event ("I just can't wait till they kill that
bastard off") as in J. R. Ewing from DALLAS (unfortunately the
bullet didn't kill him), or can catch us off guard as with the
unexpected death of Colonel Henry Blake on M*A*S*H.

Death may also visit because actors get bored with their
character's role and wish to leave the series or an actor may be
asking too much money for their abilities and be written out of
the script [a.k.a. WOOS]; or because the actor's character may
be fodder for the scriptwriter's fertile imagination who just
wants to kill them off.

Question. Do we have to mourn again for characters when they
die in reruns?

The following is a fairly complete list of many of
television's popular characters who have passed away into TV
Heaven.

"We're all waiting, for what? Fulfillment, love...
validation, approval? It's a waste of time. Life is an empty, hollow
exercise filled with pain, loss and grief, and the only thing we can
expect to achieve in our lives is our own, inevitable death."